The T & T Clark Blog

Professorial Inaugural Lecture by Dom Henry Wansbrough: Liverpool Hope 7th March

Dom Henry Wansbrough

Liverpool Hope University have announced the Professorial inaugural lecture of Dom Henry Wansbrough, who has been appointed Alexander Jones Professor of Biblical Studies. It is taking place on Wednesday 7th March at 5.30pm and the title of the lecture is 'Was Jesus a Pharisee?'

Fr Henry is the former Master of St. Benet's Hall in Oxford, was for many years the only English member of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, and is the General Editor of the New Jerusalem Bible. He is a Benedictine monk of Ampleforth Abbey.

He is also one of T&T Clark's most valued authors. His bestselling book 'The Use and Abuse of the Bible' was published to great acclaim in 2010 - reprinting twice within its first year - and his new book 'The Sunday Word' has just come out under the Burns and Oates imprint. This book provides short commentaries on the Sunday Readings (and major feasts/solemnities) together with questions for personal reflection, and an introduction on the shape of the Lectionary. It will be a must for Lectio Divina and scripture study groups in both Roman Catholic and Anglican traditions.

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor says in his foreword to the book; 'In these commentaries the background and chape of every passage is opened up and shared with us. This is a great achievement by Henry Wansbrough and we should all be grateful to him'

and Prof Richard Burridge, Dean of KCL, says; 'Beautifully written and drawing upon a lifetime of Biblical scholarship, Dom Henry Wansbrough's explanations of the Bible readings Sunday by Sunday are as informative as they are a delight!'

We congratulate Fr Henry on his Professorial appointment, and hope that the inaugural lecture will be a tremendous success.

LNTS & Fourth Gospel in First-Century Media Culture

Great to see this post from Chris Skinner on Thatcher/LeDonne volume on Fourth Gospel in First-Century Media Culture.

Thanks for this, Chris!

I'm really pleased and proud with and of the volumes coming out in LNTS at the moment, particularly the edited collections, which are really focused. The FS for Loveday Alexander - Reading Acts Today is a real state of the art of current acts scholarship. I've found that whilst some publishers are a bit scared of doing festschriften nowadays if it's a really focused project it can almost function as a reader, and sell and review really well.

We've also just published Chris L. Keith's new book on Jesus' Literacy. And some great revised dissertations have been coming through of late. We're only signing up about 8 dissertations a year in LNTS now and some of the really solid work we've had to turn down points to the quality of what's coming through. We're a bit strict on reducing word-count to ensure a thorough revision and to force people to reconceive the project as a book. It seems to be working really well.

If you've got a proposal for LNTS do send it on, or feel free to make an appointment to discuss it with me at SBL. Book soon to avoid disappointment, as my diary's over half-full already.

God, Humanity and the Cosmos – 3rd Edition

A few months ago I have posted three author’s blog posts – all three form the Biblical Studies list. I have received some advance copies of God, Humanity and the Cosmos – 3rd Edition and then I thought that it would be good if Christopher Southgate could write a blog for this collection of essays – and here it is!

I hope you’ll enjoy reading this post and do follow it till the end as I have also included three endorsements, which are simply great:

‘This textbook for students of science and religion came originally out of meetings of those UK scholars who had won awards in the Science and Religion Course Program funded by Templeton. It became clear that there was no one book that offered a clear, lively and student-friendly account of the debate. In 2005 the book was strengthened by the inclusion of a new historical chapter, and additional material on the theology of creation. For the 2011 edition, further strengthening includes new chapters on climate change and the new atheism, as well as extensive updating of the other material and the bibliography. As the co-ordinating editor I am really grateful to my co-authors for all their insights, and for their loyalty to the book - fifteen years on from its original genesis. I'm also grateful to the members of the UK Science and Religion Forum who spent a whole day last year bombarding the authors with suggestions! Evolutionary psychology, transhumanism, and the 'dappled world' of Nancy Cartwright all get more attention as a result of their suggestions. The book has become an industry standard in countries all over the world. Check out the new edition, and feed back what you think!’ Christopher Southgate.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer 1906-1945 review in The Christian Century

The March 22 issue of The Christian Century features an excellent review of our title Dietrich Bonhoeffer 1906-1945: Martyr, Thinker, Man of Resistance.

 

An excerpt from the review:

"One measure of a good biography is the degree to which it keeps this anachronistic tendency in check. When judged by this criterion, Ferdinand Schlingensiepen's new book is without peer. The author's knowledge of Bonhoeffer and his familiarity with the massive amount of research that has been done over the past 50 years are readily apparent, and they result in a clear and compelling picture of Bonhoeffer's life, work and witness. . . . Schlingensiepen excels at navigating through the many settings, characters and plots that converge to form the contours of this life. . . . Schlingensiepen is equally masterful at relating the intimate relationships of Bonhoeffer's life. . . . We are in his debt for the good work that he has done, opening a new window into the remarkable life, witness and scholarship of Dietrich Bonhoeffer."

John de Gruchy on Dietrich Bonhoeffer

John W. deGruchy has written a review of Schlingensiepen's biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, which he asked to be distributed widly. We are happy to oblige:

"The definitive biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German theologian and martyr, is undoubtedly that by his close friend Eberhard Bethge which, in the new English edition translated by Victoria Barnett runs to over a thousand pages. Bethge wrote his biography in 1967 when interest in Bonhoeffer’s legacy was growing apace, and he did so mindful of the historical and theological issues of that post-war time. Since then there have been a number of other biographies of Bonhoeffer, some good and some less so. But now, in the most recent by Ferdinand Schlingensiepen, undertaken originally with the encouragement of Bethge, we have one that is not only a worthy successor to Bethge’s monumental volume, but in some respects better for our day.

Reviews for 'Stepping out with the Sacred'

It's worth having a look at Val Webb's website. There are some very good reviews of her latest book with Continuum, Stepping out with the Sacred. You can find a preview of the title here. Enjoy!

New Review of The Christ’s Faith in the Journal of Reformed Theology!

The late Flip Theron (University of Stellenbosch, South Africa) reviewed Michael Allen’s The Christ’s Faith: A Dogmatic Account (T&T Clark Studies in Systematic Theology, 2009) in the latest issue of the Journal of Reformed Theology (Fall 2010). Theron offers high words of praise: “the way in which Allen fleshes out his agenda is nothing short of riveting . . . the author tackles his task with extreme subtlety.”

The Christ’s Faith coheres with orthodox Christology and Reformation soteriology, and needs to be affirmed to properly confirm the true humanity of the incarnate Son. Without addressing the interpretation of the Pauline phrase pistis christou, this study offers a theological rationale for an exegetical possibility and enriches a dogmatic account of the humanity of the Christ.

Theron’s words are the latest praise for this volume, about which Matthew Levering has said: “Biblical scholars and theologians on all sides of the debate will find here dogmatic theology at its biblical, ecclesial, and ecumenical best.”

Online Review: The Banished Heart

  
There is an online review of Geoffrey Hull's The Banished Heart on the National Review Site by Mike Potemra.

What happened to Fifties Catholicism?

In Hull’s thesis, the Sixties revolution in Roman Catholic practice was in large measure a result of the Counter-Reformation and Vatican I centralization of power in the papacy: In the traditional understanding, the pope was the “custodian” of tradition — but the response to the Protestant Reformation and the French Revolution made Catholicism expand that role significantly, from “custodian” to “arbiter” (the quoted words are Hull’s). The need for a strong defense against outside attacks on the Church made Catholics rally around the pope, in the name of orthodoxy, little intending that that same power could eventually be deployed in the interest of heterodoxy. (They might in this sense have benefited from an understanding of O’Sullivan’s First Law: “All organizations that are not actually right-wing will over time become left-wing.” In this ecclesial case, of course, the contrast would not be the political one between right-wing and left-wing, but rather one between tradition and experimentation.) Hull writes: “There was a direct cause-and-effect relationship between the spirit of ultramontanism and the general acquiescence of Latin[-rite] Catholics in the Pauline liturgical revolution. Or, put another way, ultramontanism is the difference between the rebellious, strong-minded Catholics [who resisted Protestant changes in] 1549 England and the conformist, unthinking ones of the decades following the Second Vatican Council.”

You can read the full review here.

‘Ecclesial Repentance. The Churches Confront Their Sinful Pasts’

I have received very interesting endorsements for Jeremy M. Bergen’s book and thought I could share these with you. ‘Ecclesial Repentance. The Churches Confront Their Sinful Pasts’ is being worked on as I am posting this and this book won’t be published for quite some time, however, following my usual routine with the manuscript I have asked people to read and to endorse it. I’ve been pleasantly surprised when all of them have agreed to write reviews for this work. Right now I am pleased even more as three endorsements have come to my inbox and it is great to see that Jeremy’s book has been received so warmly! This book offers a very topical debate on recent events regarding the Church that we are all, to some extent, familiar with.

So, without further ado, here they are:

‘This is a wonderful example of systematic ecclesiological inquiry that is disciplined both by faithful dialogue with the doctrinal tradition and by critical engagement with what churches and church people are actually doing. In the first part of the book, Bergen present an immensely helpful analytic description and assessment of a wide range of concrete examples of acts of apology and repentance performed in recent years by churches, governments and other groups, together with their varied receptions. Reflecting upon this material in the second part, he constructs a bold yet deeply thoughtful ecclesiological proposal that deserves careful consideration, not least for its ecumenical benefits. Particularly significant is his proposal that the Church’s continuity over time derives not from claims about some ideal or institutional element. Rather, he reworks the creedal ‘communion of saints’ – and sinners! – to argue that it is these practices of repentance and forgiveness, enabled by the Holy Spirit, that enable us both to appropriate our churches’ pasts and be drawn up in Christ into the life of God. It is thus ‘through repentance the Church may be granted a share of its own continuity in God’s triune life’, and thus truly be the Church.’ – Nicholas Healy, St. John's University, NY, USA.

Online Review: Reading the Decree

There is a new online review on the Barth Center website for David Gibson's book Reading the Decree, reviewed by Sung-Sup Kim.

This book offers a carefully constructed comparison of Calvin and Barth with a close reading of their exegetical works. Too often these theologians’ dogmatic characteristics have been attributed to everything from their philosophical mindset to their quirky personalities, but not enough to differences in how they read the Bible. Gibson draws attention in the right direction. Furthermore, the distinction between soteriological and principial christocentrism (and the corresponding distinction between extensive and intensive christocentrism) that he places in the center of his thesis has the power of simplicity to carry the whole argument to the end with coherence.

You can read the full review here.